Fifteen jewel-like miniature paintings--with enlarged details--and thirteen pages of exquisitely calligraphed poetry are reproduced here from a diminutive manuscript commissioned by Akbar the Great, the third Mughal emperor of India. The manuscript, which measures on 5 1/2 by 2 7/8 inches, was made in 1588, the thirty-third year of Akbar's reign, when the emperor was at the height of his power. The tiny paintings are the work of Akbar's court artists, many of whom were trained by Persian artists brought to India by Humayun, Akbar's father. A brilliant blend of Persian and Indian influences marks the work of these Mughal painters; the miniatures combine extreme delicacy of line with intense colors and complex compositions--some of which demonstrate the artists' understanding of the European concept of perspective. The various small paintings convey the whimsy, vigor, and lyrical quality of the poems they illustrate. The poems are by Auhaduddin Anvari, the greatest Persian panegyrist of the twelfth century. In her commentary on the poems and in her essay on Anvari's work and life, Annemarie Schimmel, the Museum's special consultant for Islamic art, offers insights into Anvari's complex and sometimes caustic works and gives new translations of many of the poems. Stuart Cary Welch, special consultant in charge of the Department of Islamic Art at the Metropolitan, has written an engaging account of Akbar's life and times that includes a history of the Mughal dynasty and of the court ateliers where this delightful Dīvān was produced. -- Inside jacket flaps.

Satire, irony and humour have long been features of Persian literature's rich tradition, taking various forms from the coarse and obscene to the subtle and refined. Humour in Iran is a close and comprehensive study of satire and humour – in verse as well as prose – over the eleven-hundred years since the emergence of classical Persian literature. Combining Persian original texts with their English translations, it covers a range of texts and authors, from the lampoon in Ferdowsi's great epic of the ancient kings in the tenth century, through such master satirists as Obeyd Zakani, Sa'di, Rumi, Khayyam, Hafiz, Anvari, Sana'i, Khaqani, Suzani, Qa'ani, Yaghma, and so on. The book also includes twentieth century authors such as Iraj, Dehkhoda, Bahar, Eshqi, Aref, Hedayat, Jamalzadeh, Al-e Ahmad and more. A must read for scholars and students of humour and satire as well as Persian literature and Middle Eastern studies, and it will also appeal to general readers interested in ribald humour and satire.

This volume gathers together a broad spectrum of evaluations of the soul from different perspectives, including artistic (from literature and the arts), mystic and theological reflections on spirituality from the Christian religion, as well as from the Orient and Ancient Egypt. The contributions in this book will afford the reader a wider perspective on the concept of the soul in its ethical, emotional and theological dimensions, in both European and Non-European cultures and languages, and in artistic, philosophical and religious texts.

DIVAN OF ABDULLAH ANSARI Translation & Introduction Paul Smith One of the greatest of the early mystical (Sufi) poets and Perfect Masters of all time, Abdullah Ansari... who passed from this world 1089 in Heart, now in Afghanistan, was most famous for his biographical dictionary on saints and Sufi masters and his much loved collection of inspiring prayers, the Munajat (much here translated) among many works in Persian and in Arabic. His ruba'is appear throughout his works and he composed three Divans in which his ghazals are in the majority. Here is a fine selection of them all and a qasida. Prayers, Sayings & Adice are also here with the largest selection of his poetry in English ever translated. The correct rhyme-structures have been kept and the meaning of these beautiful, powerful, mystical poems. This is the largest translation of his poems into English. Introduction: The Life and Works of Ansari, Sufis & Dervishes: Their Art and Use of Poetry; The Form, Function & History of the Ruba'i; Ghazal and the Qasida, Selected Bibliography. Large Format Paperback 7" x 10" 307 pages COMMENTS ON PAUL SMITH'S TRANSLATION OF HAFIZ'S 'DIVAN'. "It is not a joke... the English version of ALL the ghazals of Hafiz is a great feat and of paramount importance. I am astonished." Dr. Mir Mohammad Taghavi (Dr. of Literature) Tehran. "Superb translations. 99% Hafiz 1% Paul Smith." Ali Akbar Shapurzman, translator into Persian and knower of Hafiz's Divan off by heart. "I was very impressed with the beauty of these books." Dr. R.K. Barz. Faculty of Asian Studies, Australian National University. "Smith has probably put together the greatest collection of literary facts and history concerning Hafiz." Daniel Ladinsky (Penguin Books author). Paul Smith (b. 1945) is a poet, author and translator of many books of Sufi poets of the Persian, Arabic, Urdu, and other languages including Hafiz, Sadi, Nizami, Rumi, 'Attar, Sana'i, Jahan Khatun, Obeyd Zakani, Mu'in, Amir Khusrau, Nesimi, Kabir, Anvari, Ansari, Jami, Khayyam, Bedil, Rudaki, Yunus Emre, Shah Latif, Bulleh Shah, Iqbal, Ghalib Jigar, Seemab, Baba Farid, Abu Nuwas Ibn 'Arabi and many others, as well as his own poetry, fiction, plays, biographies, children's books and screenplays. www.newhumanitybooks.com

A grand synthesis of unprecedented scope, Literary Cultures in History is the first comprehensive history of the rich literary traditions of South Asia. Together these traditions are unmatched in their combination of antiquity, continuity, and multicultural complexity, and are a unique resource for understanding the development of language and imagination over time. In this unparalleled volume, an international team of renowned scholars considers fifteen South Asian literary traditions—including Hindi, Indian-English, Persian, Sanskrit, Tibetan, and Urdu—in their full historical and cultural variety. The volume is united by a twofold theoretical aim: to understand South Asia by looking at it through the lens of its literary cultures and to rethink the practice of literary history by incorporating non-Western categories and processes. The questions these seventeen essays ask are accordingly broad, ranging from the character of cosmopolitan and vernacular traditions to the impact of colonialism and independence, indigenous literary and aesthetic theory, and modes of performance. A sophisticated assimilation of perspectives from experts in anthropology, political science, history, literary studies, and religion, the book makes a landmark contribution to historical cultural studies and to literary theory in addition to the new perspectives it offers on what literature has meant in South Asia. (Available in South Asia from Oxford University Press--India)

DIVAN OF NAZEER AKBARABADI Translation and Introduction Paul Smith Nazeer Akbarabadi (1735-1830) is an Indian poet known as the 'Father of Nazm', who wrote mainly Urdu ghazals & nazms, masnavis & ruba'is. Urdu ghazals and nazms. It is said that Nazeer's poetic treasure consisted of about 200,000 couplets but only about remain. The canvas of Nazir's nazms is so vast that it encompasses all aspects of human behavior and every person can find nazms that can suit his taste. Many of his poems are about daily life and observations of things such as training a young bear or the pleasures of the rainy season, how beauty can fade... the lives of old prostitutes, etc. His poems are loved by ordinary folk today. Many of his poems are spiritual and he is seen as a true Sufi. Bankey Behari: 'He saw the Lord everywhere. His meditations led him to the realization of the Forms of the Lord as well as the Formless Divinity. He sings of Shri Krishna with the greatest fervour as of Hazrat Ali and the Prophet Mohammed, and turns his face if he comes across the pseudo-saints and religious preceptors who are wanting in realization and yet profess it. By far he is best in portraying the heat of his yearning for his vision.' This is the largest translation of his poetry into English, with the correct form & meaning. Introduction on his Life, Times & Poetry and on the poetic forms he used. Selected Bibliography. Large Format Paperback 7" x 10" 394 pages. COMMENTS ON PAUL SMITH'S TRANSLATION OF HAFIZ'S 'DIVAN'. "It is not a joke... the English version of ALL the ghazals of Hafiz is a great feat and of paramount importance. I am astonished. " Dr. Mir Mohammad Taghavi (Dr. of Literature) Tehran. "Superb translations. 99% Hafiz 1% Paul Smith." Ali Akbar Shapurzman, translator from English into Persian, knower of Hafiz's Divan off by heart. Paul Smith (b. 1945) is a poet, author and translator of many books of Sufi poets of the Persian, Arabic, Urdu, Turkish, Pashtu and other languages... including Hafiz, Sadi, Nizami, Rumi, 'Attar, Sana'i, Jahan Khatun, Obeyd Zakani, Mu'in, Amir Khusrau, Nesimi, Kabir, Anvari, Ansari, Jami, Omar Khayyam, Rudaki, Yunus Emre, Mahsati, Lalla Ded, Bulleh Shah, Shah Latif, Makhfi and many others, as well as his own poetry, fiction, plays, biographies, children's books and a dozen screenplays. www.newhumanitybooks.com